King Street Business Owners Refuse to Go Quietly Over 421 Widening

Story by David Brewer

On Wednesday, February 6, business owners in the small row of shops along the south side of King Street adjacent to the 321/421 intersection and several representatives of the N.C. Department of Transportation stood shoulder to shoulder in the Doe Ridge Pottery studio to discuss the future demolition of the building and what owners could expect in the way of financial help from the state.

The removal of the Dan’l Boone Inn-owned row of shops will make way for a right turn lane currently planned as part of the larger widening project aimed at easing traffic to and from the new Watauga High School.

DOT designer Greg Brew is responsible for the project design and was on hand to explain the lane as a much-needed feature of the redesigned road. Brew said he believes the lane will alleviate the lines of cars that regularly back up through downtown Boone from the 321/421 intersection.

“It provides a better transition in the intersection and it will hopefully reduce the queue by half,” said Brew.

Boone Florist owner Leah Rudell said she was taken completely by surprise at the news that the widening of the road would mean losing her current location.

“I was paralyzed. I still am,” said Rudell. “It’s kind of a lost feeling.”

Purchasing the business from the previous tenants five years ago, Rudell was incensed to learn that the project had been in the works for several years. “If I’d have known that I wouldn’t have bought the business,” said Rudell. She also doesn’t think a right turn lane will have any bearing on the downtown traffic snarls. “I don’t think it’s going to serve that purpose. I’ve watched the traffic and most people are going straight,” she said.

Following a January 24 meeting, P.C. Medics owner Tom Rooney contacted N.C. Representative Cullie Tarleton in hopes that his involvement could effect change in the DOT’s plans to demolish the building and install a right turn lane. Rooney and other business owners were told at the meeting that they would have to vacate, but the DOT did not provide a timetable for when they would have to be out of the building.

Right of Way Department representative Joe Thompson was on hand at last week’s meeting to provide some information about the DOT’s timetable.

“The project has been accelerated from a normal situation. That means we do have to work efficiently to take care of all our duties in a timely manner,” said Thompson.

Thompson said that the DOT is currently seeking appraisals for the property. The Division of Right of Way spokesman also said that all right of ways would be acquired by February 2009. Until the right of way for the building is purchased, the tenants will have no way of knowing how much longer they have in their current location.

Once the settlement is made between the state and the owner of the property, the tenants will have 90 days to vacate the property.

While the right of way might not be acquired until February 2009, it could also happen much sooner. If all goes according to plan, Thompson said that construction could begin as early as June 2009.

Doe Ridge Pottery owner Bob Meier said that he heard as early as last summer that the DOT was considering demolishing his current location. Meier stated that a move during peak season between fall and the new year would be “detrimental at best and suicidal most likely.”

Pat Whitaker, who works with the DOT’s Business Relocation Program, explained the financial assistance each business owner could receive for moving and reestablishing his or her business elsewhere.

According to the Uniform Relocation Act, tenants will be eligible to collect up to $10,000 in reestablishment expenses, up to $2,500 in search expenses and will also be reimbursed for any and all moving costs. Tenants could also choose to settle for a single, one-time payout of $20,000 to cover all moving and reestablishment expenses.

“We are going to try to find the answers as they come along. We don’t know all of your needs right now and neither do you,” said Whitaker.

“In my personal opinion, it’s not a reasonable number and it will close my business,” said Rooney. “This business is my income.”

Meier characterized the DOT’s presentation as “disingenuous,” expressing his doubt that any of the tenants would receive the maximum amount of money.

“We’re being offered money that is substandard at best,” said Meier.

Rooney and Meier both expressed concerns about when they would receive the funds from the DOT, noting that they would have to pay initially out of pocket for the move. Also troubling the tenants are much higher rental rates around town that threaten to sink the businesses if the DOT is slow to help them recoup.

“These are serious issues that I don’t think the DOT has been very sympathetic to,” said Rooney, who has been in his current location for nine years. The P.C. Medics owner promised further action through political channels, adding, “I will fight this until the last day.”

Rudell, Meier and Rooney all fear that their impending moves to smaller locations with steeper rents could put them out of business for good.

“I just want it to all go away,” said Rudell.